Page 32 of Drawn into Oblivion

She pulled the lid off the box, excited to see what this kind stranger had given her. Whatever it was, she would treasure it.

“It cannot be,” she gasped, clutching the lid. Inside was the dress from her dream, plum-purple and made of slick, heavy silk. On top of its neatly folded, matching belt was a rolled note. She picked it up with shaky fingers and set the lid aside.

The dress added up to too many coincidences, from Rosuke’s appearance in her dream and the invisible hands undressing her to the lip stain she had worn at the joining ceremony. This gift before her confirmed that her dream had not really been a dream.

She didn’t know what to make of this string of signs, nor of her deepening role in the empress’s life and the court. A year ago, such prophetic dreams would have frightened her, but now, having seen magic’s immense power, she wondered whether her dream had been born of magic, or perhaps influenced by it? Was it a vision sent from the Divine One, or had he only interrupted her dream, as he’d said?

She opened the note.

I left this gift on top in the hopes you would open it first. Any good suitor gives gifts, doesn’t he?

Only Yours,

Rosuke

Overwhelmed, she dropped the note. Rosuke had given her the dream dress, the same one that had slid away from her body while his image watched with hungry eyes. She fanned her face with one hand while reaching into the box with her other, unable to resist touching the rich fabric. She let out a soft breath, amazed at how smooth and cool it felt, and just as she had dreamed. As she stroked the expensive silk, she remembered the part of her dream where Rosuke had turned and stood, his combat-honed body slick and shimmering. He had moved toward her with obvious intent and had touched her reverently, as though he was about to worship her.

However, she remembered the next part all too well, and her mood abruptly sank. The commander with blond hair, his face grossly contorted with cruelty… Would that part come true as well? Had she come perilously close just now?

She swallowed hard and pulled her hand away from the dress. She couldn’t imagine Rosuke ever forcing her or even pressuring her if she wasn’t ready, especially after he had just denied himself. He would never lose control. At least, she hoped he wouldn’t.

⁂

A couple hours later, Mai sat at her vanity and pulled a well-used brush through her hair. She had eaten a small meal of rice and fish that had appeared outside her door, and had gone to the baths and back without coming upon a single person, for which she was grateful. She normally didn’t dread crossing paths with anyone, but after the nearly constant attention she’d gotten for exorcising a demon, she worried the time it took her to get anywhere in the complex would double.

Moreover, all the compliments made her feel uncomfortable, not to mention the trend of not knowing the house let alone the name of those who recognized and stopped her. She hadn’t become any more skilled at responding, nor did she trust flattery. She didn’t doubt the sincerity of her fellow crows, but she had seen brownies offer false praise to their blondie leaders too often in her old village, usually in the pursuit of a favor.

Only the empress’s opinion mattered to her. Rosuke’s too, she realized.

The higher voices of her fellow house elders occasionally passed her room as they and the rest of the court made their way to the Green Room for the evening meal, which would leave the halls empty once again while they ate their fill. Sunset also neared, and she had lit a candle as the ambient light dimmed and the air cooled.

Looking at her reflection, she rubbed her lips together and confirmed the lip stain had finally faded. She had decided to wear Rosuke’s gift, the temptation too great to resist. She had even foregone her usual underrobe. The glossy silk slid over her skin as if caressing her, and she couldn’t help fantasizing that his palms itched and tingled with phantom sensations.

Then her stomach gurgled so loudly the sound seemed to echo in the stillness of the room. Laughing and wincing at the same time, she held her hand against her stomach and wondered how her small meal hadn’t lasted even two hours. She really needed to eat something more substantial soon.

“Whew, okay,” a young, feminine voice said softly outside her door. “Just be calm.” Someone was talking to herself.

Mai looked over her shoulder as a gentle knock sounded. Remembering the note Rosuke had promised to send, she set her brush down, went to the door, and carefully cracked it open.

“Ah! Elder Mai,” a young girl greeted, smiling and bowing low.

Mai recognized her as a page for House Dragonfly. She was barely thirteen, if that. She had never learned the girl’s name, but whenever Mai had seen her around the complex, the page had been carrying out her duties with a smile and a spring in her step.

“It’s my privilege to deliver this letter to you,” the girl said, holding out said letter with both hands. It bore Mai’s name, which had been written in the same beautiful script as the note that had accompanied the dress she now wore. She nodded and took the letter.

“What’s your name?” she asked. The girl’s beaming face somehow brightened.

“Naoko, Elder Mai.”

She gave the page a sincere smile. “Thank you, Mistress Naoko.”

Eyes practically sparkling, Naoko looked at Mai as though the Divine One had come down from his Garden to speak with her. She bowed again, face flushed with the exuberance of youth. As Mai shut the door, the girl gleefully whispered, “Bless me, the elder of Spring. Oh, bless me!”

Mai couldn’t help a smile as she returned to the vanity. She pulled the tie from the scroll, unrolled the note, and sat as she read.

At your convenience, please dine with me in the Red Room.

Only Yours,